A Lot Like Dreaming

"When anxiety is part of your daily existence, it starts to feel normal."[WARNING:This isn't a real review. It's just my thoughts so it's only going to be a paragraph or two.]Don't you just love it when you pick up a book and it just speaks to you? And I mean literally. It just tells you your life story, the way you feel all the time and the way you react to certain things, reminding you that you're not alone and you never were in the first place? Because I do. I love when that happens and with this book, with the thirteen little, empowering stories, that's what I got.Although I could only really relate to four stories, I really enjoyed all thirteen of them. Ten stories would have been too little and twenty would have been too many for me. The stories that I could really connect with were Ben's, Caroline's, Steven's, and Stacey's. I could easily relate to Ben because I isolate myself the same way he does by making plans with friends and then just as quickly freaking out over nothing and cancelling them for absolutely no reason. I can relate to Caroline because in the past and even to this day, I find horrid ways/ideas to focus on so that I can stop thinking about my problems. With Steven, it's the same as Caroline except different because I don't use drugs a lot. But like him, I do feel like the world is out to get me. Living in a huge city like Toronto, it's easy to let your anxiety get the best of you and I feel like I'm constantly paranoid over things that I shouldn't be. And finally, Stacey, she has a huge problem with people finding any faults with her. Same as I. I used to love meeting new people and stuff like that but when my anxiety went through the roof, I stopped talking to people. I can't bring myself to talk to new people because I feel like they'll hate me or dislike me and I just cannot deal with something like that. Freaking Out by Polly Wells and Peter Mitchell is a great novel for everyone. Not just for teens but for anyone who has anxiety or knows someone who does. These thirteen stories can help spot the signs and could potentially save someone's life because mental illness is as real as any other illness. Everyone should read this book, the stories are short and straight to the point. I think everyone will be able to relate to at least one of them and remember that they are not alone and never were in the first place.